On Chris’ birthday, we got all dressed up for a fancy steak dinner in downtown Detroit. The views from our table were spectacular. On the 72nd floor of a hotel, the restaurant overlooked the Detroit River. Directly across the river was a view of Canada. Watching the sunset that evening was breathtaking. God, in all His majesty, created the perfect backdrop for what would soon become the start of something new.

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19

While staring contently out the window, in awe of the scenery, Chris interrupted my thoughts. He said, “I have something for you.” I thought, “It’s his birthday? Why in the world does he have something for me?”

He pulled an envelope from his backpack and excitedly handed it to me. I skeptically opened the envelope and removed its contents. I slowly unfolded the paper to find an employee discount card inside. Sarcastically, I mumbled, “thank you”.

Shortly afterwards, he said, “I have another surprise for you?” I thought, “What is it this time?” Needless to say, I was over his interruptions during my perfectly planned birthday dinner!!

For the second time, he reached into his little backpack of “surprises”. This time he pulled out a dissertation – a seven page, handwritten letter addressed to yours truly. Not quite a dissertation, but too many pages nonetheless. Ha!

The number seven in the Bible represents divine perfection, totality, or completion.

Me: “Am I suppose to read this now?”

Chris: “Yes.”

Me: “Like, right now??”

Chris: “Move over there. To the other side. Directly in front of me. I want to watch you read it.”

While reading the letter, my eyes began to swell with tears. It was a trip down memory lane. It recapped the special moments we’d shared since our first phone conversation only seven months prior! He recalled our first date at Pappadeaux’s. I call it a date. He calls it a meeting. #whatever, and so many other things. Our courtship thus far had truly been a whirlwind.

When I finished the letter, I looked up. Our eyes met. Though I’d looked into his eyes several times before, this time was different. This time, God gave me a glimpse inside his soul.

Chris: “I have one last surprise for you.”

Me: Again, silently thinking, “What else does this man have in that bag?!?!”

Chris: “Close your eyes. I’ll tell you when to open ’em.”

Me: Still clueless, “Sure. Whatever!”

Chris: “Open ’em”

He was down on one knee. Nervously, he began to speak, “I couldn’t think of a better birthday gift than to have you as my wife. Will you marry me?” #newthing #completion

Me: In between the screams of excitement and shock, “YES!”

My Testimony

You may be thinking, “Good for you. What does this have to do with me?” Before you roll your eyes and exit the screen, gimme a minute. You see, I’d been down this road before. I’d already been engaged twice (I’ll share more about that later). Neither of which ended in a trip down the aisle. This was my third, and God willing, final engagement. I’m far from perfect. I’ll be the first to admit, I didn’t do everything right. In fact, I did WHOLE LOT wrong. But God, He loves us too much to leave us the way He finds us, or better stated, the way we find Him. #praisebreak

I shared this story for two reasons.

Brag on God: God’s the hero. He’s been so good to me. He’s been faithful to me, even when I was unfaithful Him. Listen to me, if God removes something, or someone, from your life, it’s for your good. He has something so much better in store for you. Trust Him. It’s true, Father knows best.

Encourage you. God is gracious. I don’t deserve to be married to the most amazing, supportive, handsome, loving, caring (OK, I’ll stop with the adjectives. Ha!) man, BUT God loved me enough to make it so. There’s nothing special about me. He did it for me, He’ll do it for you.

He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. Psalm 103:10

“Is marriage different than you thought it would be?” was the question asked in a devotional Chris and I were studying. Pausing for a minute, I reflected upon what I thought versus reality. I answered first. “Yes! The first seven months of our marriage have been much different than I thought.”

I envisioned a two income household, endless shopping, disposable income, and lots of travel. Far from the cooking, cleaning, and piles of laundry awaiting me. I never in a million years envisioned myself being a housewife. I thought being a housewife was an elite status, reserved only for the rich and famous. I was neither of those things.

From a very young age I was taught – Work hard. Take care of yourself. Don’t depend on a man, or anybody else, to take care of you. Now what would people think? Scripture clearly says in Proverbs 29:25, “Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety” but that didn’t stop me from entertaining my thoughts. What would people think of me becoming a housewife? How would I explain forfeiting my six figure salary as an engineer to be a housewife? People would think I was crazy to give up my life to marry a man I barely knew (that’s a story for another day). All of these thoughts were confirmed when I received the following email from a friend/mentor.

Tiffany, don’t give up who you are for your new marriage…if something should not work out, you will be left with nothing. Chris is not giving up who he is for you, why in the world are you giving up who you are for him? What if he divorces you in two years, then what?

And, men respect hard work, intelligence and partnership from their spouses…if you become one dimensional, you risk becoming uninteresting. What is going on with you…I don’t get it? You marry a man that you don’t know, you quit your job, and you move away from all independence, you have no income, do you even know what his legal worth is and who he has assigned it to should anything go wrong?

Yeah, me too! I was at a loss for words too! Needless to say, I was upset. After calming down, I realized she was coming from a good place. Like me, she was taught, work hard and don’t depend on anybody. The thought of surrendering control to someone else is scary; however, that’s what God requires of us. He wants our hearts. He wants our complete trust. He wants to know we really believe He’s a good, good Father. Would I surrender this season of my life to him and trust He knows best? What about you? Is God tugging on your heart to surrender something? It’s easy to believe it’s us making things happen in our lives, but that’s simply not true. God is in control of all things.

For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being. Job 12:10

We can’t expect others to understand what God is doing in our lives. That’s why it’s so important to have a relationship with God. If you don’t know who you are, someone else is waiting to define it for you. Had I received this email prior to having a real relationship with God, I would’ve frantically started searching for jobs to prove my worth. Not this time Satan! I chose to trust the plan God has for me. We’re often taught, good things come to those who work hard. While that may be true, I also believe better things comes to those who trust God.

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13

Hey, I’m Tiffany!

I've been waiting for you. Thanks for stopping by! I'm a southern girl, residing in Sweet Home Alabama. I'm a Christian, wife (married to the most amazing man, Chris), health and fitness enthusiast, and blogger. I'm eager to share what God has placed on my heart. Why Tea With Tiffany P? I'm spilling all the tea! Click on the picture above.